Conjugations
All six tenses and their examples are shown below. Use the links above to jump to a tense. English translations use the meaning “to surprise.”
Present Présent
Habits, current states, and actions happening now.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | étonne | I surprise | |
| tu | étonnes | you surprise | |
| il / elle / on | étonne | he / she / it surpriseson: we surprise / one surprises | |
| nous | étonnons | we surprise | |
| vous | étonnez | you surprise | |
| ils / elles | étonnent | they surprise |
IN A SENTENCEPresent example
Ce résultat étonne les chercheurs.
This result surprises the researchers.
Passé composé
Completed past events, using avoir or être plus a past participle.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | ai étonné | I surprised | |
| tu | as étonné | you surprised | |
| il / elle / on | a étonné | he / she / it surprisedon: we surprised / one surprised | |
| nous | avons étonné | we surprised | |
| vous | avez étonné | you surprised | |
| ils / elles | ont étonné | they surprised |
IN A SENTENCEPassé composé example
Hier, ce résultat a étonné les chercheurs.
Yesterday, this result surprised the researchers.
The passé composé uses avoir. The table shows the unmarked participle; agreement with a preceding direct object is outside this reference.
Back to tense navigation ↑Imperfect Imparfait
Past habits, descriptions, and actions in progress.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | étonnais | I used to surprise | |
| tu | étonnais | you used to surprise | |
| il / elle / on | étonnait | he / she / it used to surpriseon: we used to surprise / one used to surprise | |
| nous | étonnions | we used to surprise | |
| vous | étonniez | you used to surprise | |
| ils / elles | étonnaient | they used to surprise |
IN A SENTENCEImperfect example
Autrefois, ce résultat étonnait les chercheurs.
Back then, this result used to surprise the researchers.
Future Futur simple
Future events and predictions.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | étonnerai | I will surprise | |
| tu | étonneras | you will surprise | |
| il / elle / on | étonnera | he / she / it will surpriseon: we will surprise / one will surprise | |
| nous | étonnerons | we will surprise | |
| vous | étonnerez | you will surprise | |
| ils / elles | étonneront | they will surprise |
IN A SENTENCEFuture example
Plus tard, ce résultat étonnera les chercheurs.
Later, this result will surprise the researchers.
Conditional Conditionnel présent
Hypothetical events and polite requests.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | étonnerais | I would surprise | |
| tu | étonnerais | you would surprise | |
| il / elle / on | étonnerait | he / she / it would surpriseon: we would surprise / one would surprise | |
| nous | étonnerions | we would surprise | |
| vous | étonneriez | you would surprise | |
| ils / elles | étonneraient | they would surprise |
IN A SENTENCEConditional example
Ce résultat étonnerait les chercheurs.
This result would surprise the researchers.
Present subjunctive Subjonctif présent
Dependent clauses expressing wishes, necessity, doubt, and certain feelings.
| Subject | French | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| je / j’ | étonne | (that) I surprise | |
| tu | étonnes | (that) you surprise | |
| il / elle / on | étonne | (that) he / she / it surpriseson: (that) we surprise / one surprises | |
| nous | étonnions | (that) we surprise | |
| vous | étonniez | (that) you surprise | |
| ils / elles | étonnent | (that) they surprise |
IN A SENTENCEPresent subjunctive example
Il est possible que ce résultat étonne les chercheurs.
It is possible that this result surprises the researchers.
French forms omit the subject. Use j’ before a vowel sound. Vous is polite singular or plural “you”; on often means “we,” or the general “one.” English wording depends on the context: passé composé can also use “have,” and the imperfect can describe an ongoing action. Subjunctive translations here follow “it is possible that.”
Meaning & usage
- to surprise
English glosses are a starting point. The meaning of a verb can change with context, a preposition, or se. Read the full dictionary entry ↗
Meanings and simple conjugation forms adapted from English Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki.org / Wiktextract. Passé composé forms combine the source auxiliary and past participle. Frequency scores from wordfreq 3.1.1 by Robyn Speer and contributors. Adapted data is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Entry source · Sources, download & limitations